Lawn-aerating machine

ABSTRACT

A lawn-aerating machine has a chassis which may be moved about the lawn on wheels. A transmission case moves vertically relative to the chassis and from the case depend drills shaped to dig holes in the lawn. A prime mover drives each of the drills. Means is provided to lower the drills relative to the chassis under control of the operator.

United States Patent Charles S. Blair;

Walter Bradley, Redwood City, Calif. 750,244

Aug. 5, 1968 Mar. 2, 1971 said Bradley assignor to said Kramer InventorsAppl. No. Filed Patented Assignee LAWN-AERATING MACHINE 2 Claims, 5Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl .1 172/21, 1 l 1/ 92 Int. Cl A0lb 45/02 Field of Search 1 72/21[56] References Cited! UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,724,449 8/1929Buddenbrock 1 l1/89UX 2,303,726 12/1942 Dettloffet a1 172/21 2,394,7712/1946 Hill 1 11/89X 3,109,393 11/1963 Dion 111/89 3,394,667 7/1968White 1. l 1 1/89X Primary Examiner-William B. Penn AssistantExaminer-C. Coughenour Attorney-Julian Caplan ABSTRACT: A lawn-aeratingmachine has a chassis which may be moved about the lawn on wheels. Atransmission case moves vertically relative to the chassis and from thecase depend drills shaped to dig holes in the lawn. A prime mover driveseach of the drills. Means is provided to lower the drills relative tothe chassis under control of the operator.

PATENTEU m 21971 35 6373 saw 1 BF 2 I'NVENTOR. WALTER BRAZZE) YCHARLESS. BLAIR M MW ATTORNEY PATENTED m 219m SHEET 2 OF 2 F/Gi .3.

INVENTOR. BRADLEY WALTER CHARLES S. BLAIR FIG. 2.

ATTORNEY LAWN-AERATING MACHINE This invention relates to a new andimproved lawn-aerating machine.

A principal feature of the present invention is the fact thatthere isprovided 'a machine which isreadily maneuverable about the lawn andeasily operated with a minimum of skill required. i I

A principal object of the present invention is to drill a plurality ofholes in a lawn rapidly and simultaneously at regularly spaced intervalsand then to retract the drills automatically.

A feature of the invention is the rugged construction of the devicewhich insures a long life with little maintenance required. c

A further feature of the invention is the ease with which the drills maybe replaced when broken or for sharpening.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon readingthe following specification and referring to the accompanying drawingsin which similar characters of reference represent corresponding partsin each of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1, is a front elevational view of the machine partly broken away insection. V

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof. FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectionalview taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along theline 4-4 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. Sis an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through a portion of thetransmission case.

The upper portion of the machine comprises a transmission case 11 whichis rectangular in plan and is sealed so that oil may be maintainedtherein to reduce friction of the mating -.parts. Supported abovetransmission case 11 is a prime mover 12 which is preferably a gasolineengine. The prime mover 12 has a depending shaft which extends insidethe case 11 and carries internally thereof a pinion l4 meshing with gear16 on jack shaft 17 journaled in the casing 11. Shaft 17 also carries apinion 18 which meshes with one of a plurality of driven gears 19 whichare contained within casing 11 and mesh with adjacent gears so that allof the gears 19 are driven simultaneously and alternate gears are drivenin opposite directions. As is shown in the accompanying drawing,'thereare eight gears 19, but this number is subject to variation. Each gear19 is supported on a vertical shaft 21. The upper end of each shaft 21is received in a bushing 22 in the upper casing plate 23. Shaft 21projects through the bottom casing plate 24, there being a bushing andoil seal 26surr0unding the shaft. The lower end of each shaft 21 issplit as indicated by reference numeral 27 and receives the flat upperend 28 of drill 29. In a preferred form of the invention, the drill 29is formed of a flat piece of stock twisted in the shape as shown in FIG.5 and formed with the point 31 at its lower end. A feature of theinvention is the fact that the point 31 penetrates the soil when thecasing 11 is lowered and the twisted shape of the drill 29 assists indigging the drill into the ground.

Below casing 11 is a chassis 36 which isrectangular in plan' and ofgenerally the same shape as casing 11 but slightly larger. The sides 37of chassis 36 are bent upwardly and receive horizontal transverse axles38 carrying wheels 39 at their outer end. At the rear of each side 37 isan extension 41 which receives a handle 42 preferably quickly detachableas is well understood in the power lawn mower art and which is used tosteer and advance the machine. On each side of the machine is an upwardextending guide block 46 having inward extending edges 47 between whichslide aguide block 48 fixed to transmission case 11. A vertical slot 49is formed in guide block 46 and a stub shaft 51 projects: through a slot49 to the outside of guide 46 and receives a fitting 52 on its oppositeend. A slide 53 is interposed between guide 46 and fitting 52 andbridges the slot 49. Case-lifting handle 56 extends forward and enerallyparallel to steerin handle 4.2. At its lower end han e 56 1S pivoted bymeans 0 pivot pin 57 to an ear 58 extending up from side 37 of chassis36. Forwardly of ear 58 is a lever 59 which is rigidly connected tohandle 56 and the forward end of lever 59 is pivoted by means of pin 61to fitting 52. A hairpin shaped spring 62 is provided on either side ofchassis 36. One forward end 63 of spring 62 is connected to socket 64 onfitting 52. The other forward extending end 66 of spring 62 is connectedby fitting 67 to side 37. The legs 63- -66 of spring 62 tend to springapart and thus to raise the transmission case 11 upward relative tochassis 36. However, when handle 56 is turned in a counterclockwisedirection as viewed in FIG. 4, lever 59 is depressed causing the case 11to move downwardly as guided by the slide 48 moving in guide 46.Downward movement of the transmission case 11 lowers the drill 29 intothe soil. When the drills are fully depressed, handle 56 is released andthe spring 62 restores the transmission case 11 to upward position.Thereupon, the operator moves the device by means of handle 42 to thenext location and again depresses handle 56 to drill the next series ofholes.

We claim:

1. An aerating machine comprising a chassis, wheels mount ing saidchassis for movement over the ground, a first handle for guiding saidchassis, a transmission case, guide means for mounting said case forreciprocating substantially vertical movement relative to said chassis,a prime mover on said case, a plurality of drills depending from saidcase, drive means in said case connected to said prime mover to rotateeach said drill, lowering means for lowering said case relative to saidchassis, said drills entering the soil below said chassis as said caseis lowered, and resilient means biasing said case upward relative tosaid chassis, said chassis having an upward extending guide formed withan elongated vertical slot and said chassis having a slide with a pinextending through said slot and which further comprises a second handlehaving a lever attached to said pin and means pivotally mounting saidsecond handle on said chassis extending generally parallel to said firsthandle, a plurality of shafts rotatably' mounted in said case, eachdriven by said drive means, and means for attaching one said drill toeach said shaft, a gear on each said shaft, each said gear meshing withat least two adjacent gears and means for rotating one said shaft fromsaid prime mover.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which each said drill is formed ofa flat piece of metal twisted into helical shape and pointed at itslower end. 1 a

1. An aerating machine comprising a chassis, wheels mounting saidchassis for movement over the ground, a first handle for guiding saidchassis, a transmission case, guide means for mounting said case forreciprocating substantially vertical movement relative to said chassis,a prime mover on said case, a plurality of drills depending from saidcase, drive means in said case connected to said prime mover to rotateeach said drill, lowering means for lowering said case relative to saidchassis, said drills entering the soil below said chassis as said caseis lowered, and resilient means biasing said case upward relative tosaid chassis, said chassis having an upward extending guide formed withan elongated vertical slot and said chassis having a slide with a pinextending through said slot and which further comprises a second handlehaving a lever attached to said pin and means pivotally mounting saidsecond handle on said chassis extending generally parallel to said firsthandle, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted in said case, eachdriven by said drive means, and means for attaching one said drill toeach said shaft, a gear on each said shaft, each said gear meshing withat least two adjacent gears and means for rotating one said shaft fromsaid prime mover.
 2. A machine according to claim 1 in which each saiddrill is formed of a flat piece of metal twisted into helical shape andpointed at its lower end.